Joel J. Clark

Colonel Joel Clark is currently the garrison commander for the Presidio of Monterey. Previously Clark served as the garrison commander at Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Va.

Commissioned in 1987 from the University of Iowa as a distinguished military graduate, his first duty assignment was as an infantry officer with the 3/325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy.

Upon completion of the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course and the Special Forces Qualification Course he was assigned to

the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) where he served in multiple positions.  Clark has served with the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, the U.S. Army Personnel Command, 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne) and the United States Special Operations Command. He served with Task Force 134 (Detainee Operations) for 15 months in Iraq.

He arrived in Monterey from the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Headquarters, Fort Monroe, Va., where he served as the director of the Joint Force Training Directorate.

Clark is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses as well as the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Joint Forces Staff College, and the Joint Advanced Warfighting School.  He holds masters’ degrees from Central Michigan University, National Defense University and the Naval Postgraduate School--studying Spanish at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center subsequent to NPS.

His awards and decorations include numerous U.S. achievement and service ribbons as well as U.S. and foreign qualification badges.